RATINGS RAT RACE: 'Awake' Drops 20%

In its second airing, NBC’s midseason drama Awake (1.6/4 in adults 18-49, 4.3 million viewers) was down 20% from its modest premiere last week. The midseason drama faced an original The Mentalist in the 10 PM hour vs. a repeat last week, but its lead-in was actually bigger. Both The Office (2.6/7) and Up All Night (1.7/4) were up a tenth in the demo from last week. Earlier in the night, 30 Rock (1.4/4) was flat, while Parks And Recreation (1.9/5) was up 12%.

CBS’ The Big Bang Theory (5.1/5, 15.2 million) appears headed for another demo victory over Fox’s American Idol (4.8/14, 17 million), though the official call will have to wait until the finals are released this afternoon as CBS was preempted for college basketball games in 3% of the country and the network’s ratings may be adjusted down. Big Bang was down a tenth from the fast national for its last original two weeks ago, while the hourlong Idol was down 11% from the two-hour edition last Thursday. The Finder (2.3/6) was up 15% from two weeks ago in its final airing on Thursday. With a stronger lead-in at 8:30 PM — a Big Bang rerun vs. Rob — CBS’ Person Of Interest (3.4/9) now runs 10% ahead of its last original for a series high. Mentalist (2.8/8) was up 8%. ABC aired repeats.